Single-pilot-wire control system.



PATENTED AUG. 21, 1906. U. M. CLARK.

SINGLE PILOT WIRE CONTROL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1906.

9: M G HOZHCIJS Mia 7/4 UNITED snares PATENT oFFIon CHARLES M. CLARK, OF SUMMIT, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOIIENRY MIHARDING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SINGLE-PILOTWIFIE CONTROL SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

latented Aug. 21, 1906.

Application filed May 16, 1906. Serial No. 317,234.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LCIIARLES M. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Summit, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new an d useful Improvements in Single-Pilot-Wirc Control Systems, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to anelectric circuit or system for controlling machines or devices at a distance or any desired point.

The main object of the invention is to secure complete control by means of a single wire.

A specific field of utility for my invention lies in the multiple-unit control of trains, in which the motors upon each of the cars are called upon to operate at varying s eeds and reverse under the control of a single mastercontroller operating through a pilot-circuit. The invention has equal utility, however, for the control of elevators, mining-locomotives, signal systems, and. the governing of all kinds sof machinery at a distant point.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the construction, combination, in the location, and in the arrangement of circuits and parts, as hereinafter set forth and shown, and finally particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The drawing shows diagrammatically a control system embodying the principles of my invention.

Practically all electrical machinery is now operated from a power-circuit of fixed voltage, generally five hundred volts, which supplies the motors in any convenient way. In the case of trains the electric power is supplied through the rails and the trolley, which are maintained at the predetermined potential difl'erence required. The control of the electrically-operated machinery is accomplished. by switches, rheostats, contactors,

and various other controlling apparatus which is en plied for the purpose upon the market. T e wel1-known contactors used on all electric trains are an example of controlling means for an electric motor which are set intooperation b circuit. These features orm no art of my present invention and are well un erstood by those skilled in the art, and I therefore have confined the present description to the mere a pilot-operating establishment of separate circuits which, it will be understood, are employed with contactors or other instruments or devices for governing and operating electrical machim ery. It is to be understood that the present invention relates only to the circuit and parts extendin to the i master-controller and by means '0 which various line devices or circuits are'actuated at will and over a single wire from the master-controller.

In the drawing, 1 and 2 indicate wires or metallic elements forming part of a powercircuit and maintained at a fixed or alternating difference of potential. The wires 1 and 2 may be respectively the trolley and the trackrails of a railway system having cars A and B. 3 indicates a wire or circuit which is included in each car of the train and whichis connected to a form of controller at the point 3. 4 denotes the pilot-wire, which is connected between the several cars at the points 4, so as to form a continuous circuit throughout the train. the pilot-wire to points 3 on the wire 3 adjacent to the controllers. At points 7 on the extremity of the circuits 3 on each of the cars I tap resistance connections 5 and 6 to the power-terminals. The resistances 5 and 6 may be motors, lamps, magnets, heaters, or other convenient elements of about equal ohmic value. In some cases when my invention is employed with alternating-current circuits the resistances 5 and 6 will be substituted by inductance-coils of about equal impedance. In this way the circuit 3 on each of the cars extends between a point tapped by resistance connections to both ower-ter minals and is extended to control ers slFiwn at the other end of the car. In practice there would of course be two controllers on each car. Between the connections 7 and the part Bof the pilot-circuit may be any number of controlling devices, depending on the requirements of any particular system or installation.

At each station, section, or car I provide a number of what I shall term overnin relays 10, 1'1, 12, 13, and 14. ach oft es'e governing-relays includes a winding through which the current in wire 3 passes and y means of which the governing-relay is made to operate at a certain position of the mastercontroller. As illustrated, the governingrelays 1 1, 12. 13, and 14 have a closed magnetic circuit or ring the two halves of which are wound with separate coils 15 and 16. The coils 16 are in a local circuit through 5 which current constantly passes, which is conveniently attained hy connect ing the coils in series hetween-the wires or power-terruinals 1 and 2. The various coils 15 are arranged to he traversed hy the current in the wire 3. The coils of governing-relays 1 l and 12 are in series with one another, while the coils of relays l3 and 1.4 are in parallel. In the drawing the coils of relays 1.; and 14 are in the opposite direction to the coils of 15 relays 11 and 12. The governiug relay 11! is of dill'erent form, heing merely a sol(noi l coil 17, attracting an armature 18, which moves a pointer 10 over contacts 21]. The contacts 21] may he connected to coutactors,

if desired, by electrical connections, which. it

is not necessary to show, or they may he connected to any separate instruments, valves, or devices for securing the government of electrical ap )aratus or the transmission of signals. In like manner ach of the governing-relays 1 l, 12, 13, and 14 may operate any desired contaetors or devices. For this purpose I have illustrated armatures 21 moving against contact-points 22 when attracted by 0 the magnets in opposition to their spring 23. Each controller has an arm 24, which moves over resistancecontacts 25 and 26. The final contacts of the respective series are connected to the wires or power elements 1 and 2. The operation is as follows: Sn 'iposing it is desired to operate a certain mechanism at stations A and B from the forward controller, I will suppose that the mechanism is the first contactor of the car-motors which is con- 40 nected to run said motors in a forward direction. I will imagine this particular contactor to be connected so as to operate when the governing-relay 12 attracts lts armature 21 against the contact-point 22. For this 5 purpose the motorman moves arm 24 downward to the first notch of resistancecontacts 26. Under these circumstances a light current passes th. ough each of the resistances 5 from the power-terminal 1 and through each 0f the wires or circuits 3 on the res ective cars. From there the current passes t rough the connections 4" into the pilotwire and throu h the controller resistance 26 into the other ranch 2 of the power connections. In

traversing this circuit the current flows through the coils 17 and 15 of the various governing-relays. If the power-terminals 1 and 2 are alternating-current terminals, the currents will traverse the above circuit in alternating directions. In the meantime all of the coils 16 are constantly connected to the ower-terminals, so that a current is passing through them which either acts in conjunction with or in op osltion' to the current of the coils 15. If t e coils 15 and 16 act in con unction, a closed magnetic circuit is lorn'ied hy the core of the governing-relay. Under these circumstances no pole is developed no matter how reat the intensity of the current may be. I however, the cores 15 and 16 act in opposition to one another, a pair of poles are produced which may he symmetrical and quite intense if the magnetomotive forces of the two coils are about bah anced.

All of the governing-relays are difl'erently constructed, and in the arrangement illustra ted the coils of governing-relays 11 and 12 act in opposition to one another, so that poles are produced; hut the coils of relays 13 and 1 1- a t in conjul'iction, so that no pole is developed no matter how strong the current may he. This is true in each case whether the power-mains 1 and 2 are energized with direct or alternating current. If an alternating current is employed, the successive lays, so that the conjunctive or opposition eliect thereof is the same as with a direct current. The governing-relays 11 and 12 are supposed to he wound ditl'erently, so that for a certa n intensity of current their magnetomotive forces are dill'ercnt. For a certain position of the controller-arm 24 a certain intensity of current will flow, and in the position shown 1 will assume that this current produces magneto-motive forces in the coils 15 and 16 of relay 12, which halance one another. A symmetrical pole will therefore he developed and the armature 21. attracted against stop 22 to close any desired local circuit. This may he the usual circuit for closing one contactor of a series which etl ects the control of the car-motor. As the controlarm 24 is moved to a new position the magneto-motive force of all the coils 15 increases, and at a certain position the 1nagneto-motive forces of coils 15 and 16 of relay 1] halance, so that armature 21 of this relay is at tracted and a second contactor operated.

As many governing-relays may he used as are necessary, and it is evident that they will he successively operated as above descrihed. As the successive relays operate the relays previously operated may or may not continue to attract their armatures. in the ease of train control it is immaterial whether or not the relays previously actuated continue to attract their armatures. When the contniller-arm 24 is moved upward, the re lays 13 and 14 operate for ditl'erent amounts at throw in the same way as the relays 1 1 and 12. Thus any one of the relays 11, 12, 13, and 14 may be separately actuated by the movement of the controller-arm 24, and all through a single-pilot-wire connection. It is obvious that the numher of relays may he made as great as is desired. One set operates l'or upward throw of arm 24, the other set on downward throw. This follows bealternations allect all the coils of all the recorresponding coils 0 cause the direction of winding of coils 15 of relays 13 and 14 is op osite to that of the relays 11 and 12. hen the arm 24 is moved upward, the current passes from trolley-wire 1 through resistance 25, through arm 24, and through the coils 15 in one direction, and when arm 24 is moved downward the current passes from conductor .1, through resistance .5, and through the ends 15 in the opposite direction. Accordingly since these relays respond only to currents in one direction, it ha pens that relays 11 and 1! respond when t e arm 24 moves in one direction, while relays 13 and 1.4 respond when arm 24 moves in the other direction.

The relays 10 are illustrative of the control which is obtainable by varying the strength of the pilot-current. These relays 10 may be used in conjunction with one or more relays of the form 11, 12, 13, and 14. For example, one or more of the relays 11 12 13 14 may be used to control the direction of movement of the motors, while the relays 10 may be employed to regulate the speed of the motors.

The gist of the invention lies in the dividing of the operating voltage by a pair or resistances and tapping a special circuit-wire at an intermediate point, so as to get any range of current strength in the wire bya master-controller. With this is combined governing-rela s of such a type as to be responsive to di erent current conditions, and t ereb actuate any predetermined or selected ibcal devices or instruments.

What I claim is 1. In a control system, a plurality of governing-relays in a s ecial clrcuit, resistance connections from t e ower-terminals to such circuit, and variab e connections at an other point of the circuit for controlling the strength of current therein.

2. A control system having a single pilotwire, governing-relays in special circuits having resistance connections with the powerterminals, and means connected to the pilotwire for varying the intensity of current in said circuits.

3. In a control system, a plurality of goveming-relays havin coils in a special circuit, and additional coi s in a constantly-energized circuit, said coils acting in a closed ma netic circuit, a pilot-wire connected to sair special circuit, and means for connecting said pilot-wire to either power-terminal,

whereby a pole is produced in any desired governing-relay.

4. In a control system, a pair of power wires or terminals, a special circuit-wire connected thereto by resistances so as to normally have an intermediate potential, :1 master-controller for connecting said circuit-wire to either of said powerwires, and governing-relays in said circuit.

5. In a control system, a pair of power Wires or terminals, a special circuit-wire connected thereto by resistances so as to normally have an intermediate potential, a master-controller for connecting said circuit-wire to either of said power-wires, and governing-relays in said circuit-wire responsive to currents of a varying phase or direction in said circuit.

6. In a control system, a pair of power wires or terminals, a pilot-wire connected thereto by resistances so as to normally have an intermediate potential, a master-controller for connecting said pilot-wire to either of said power-wires, and governing-relays responsive to currents of only one direction and predetermned strength in said pilotcircuit.

7. In a control system, a pair of power wires or terminals, a, pilot-wire connected thereto by resistances so as to normally have an intermediate potential, a master-controller for connecting said pilot-wire to either of said powerwires, and governing-relays responsive to currents of predetermined stren th only in said pilot-circuit.

8. I1 a control system, a pilot wire circuit, a governing-relay having a closed magnetic circuit and two coils thereon, one of said coils being constantly energized and the other coil being included in the ilot-circuit.

9. In a control s stem, a pi ot-wire circuit, a pluralit or governingaelays each havln a close magnetic circuit and two coils t ereon one of which is constantly energized from the (power-circuit, and the other included in sai pilot-circuit, the difl'erent relays being wound and adjusted to respond to currents of different strengths and characters in said pilot-circuit.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES M. CLARK.

Witnesses:

WALDo M. OIIAPIN, WILLIAM DORMAN. 

